What Seán spoke about.

10

Nov

2022

EN Speech

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A high common level of cybersecurity across the Union (A9-0313/2021 - Bart Groothuis)

Madam President, I voted in favour of this report. Higher EU ambition on cybersecurity and in protecting critical infrastructure is vital. Recent incidents have revealed the fragility of the EU’s infrastructure and emphasised the danger of cyberattacks, including the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines and last year’s massive cyberattack on the health system in my own country. European criti…

10

Nov

2022

GA Speech

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Digital finance: Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) (A9-0341/2021 - Billy Kelleher)

Mr President, I was pleased to vote in favour of the report on this important amending regulation organised by my colleagues Gearailt and Ó Céileachair from Ireland. The Digital Operational Resilience act is important to ensure that the necessary safeguards are in place in the provision of financial services to mitigate cyberattacks and other ICT-related risks. Cyberattacks are real dangers today.…

10

Nov

2022

EN Speech

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Racial justice, non-discrimination and anti-racism in the EU (debate)

, Madam Commissioner, we must listen to those affected and recognise that racism, xenophobia and discrimination are still prevalent in the EU across all Member States. Research from the European Union Fundamental Rights Agency has shown that racism comes in various forms, and unfortunately, harassment and discrimination remain a harsh reality in the daily lives of ethnic minorities and marginalise…

20

Oct

2022

EN Speech

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UN Climate Change Conference 2022 in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt (COP27) (B9-0461/2022)

A Uachtaráin, as I say, at the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference in Egypt, which I am grateful to be attending, it is paramount that an agreement of continued cooperation, and support, is reached to ensure we limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. COP 27 comes at a time of great significance with the energy crisis across Europe. The impact of climate change can also be seen following the…

20

Oct

2022

EN Speech

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Growing hate crimes against LGBTIQ people across Europe in light of the recent homophobic murder in Slovakia (B9-0476/2022, B9-0477/2022)

A Uachtaráin, today I voted to strongly condemn the growing level of hate crimes against the LGBTQI community in Europe. This comes in light of the brutal and unjustified murder of two young men in Slovakia by far—right and radicalised gunmen. No person should ever feel threatened or unsafe as a result of their sexual orientation. That is why today I stand as an ally with the LGBTQ community and I…

20

Oct

2022

EN Speech

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The Rule of Law in Malta, five years after the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia (B9-0470/2022, B9-0471/2022)

A Uachtaráin, journalists play a crucial and significant role in ensuring the transparency, accountability and openness of our political institutions. The murder of anti-corruption investigative journalist Daphne Galizia five years ago is a scar on the face of democracy. I therefore welcome the resolution denouncing persistent flaws with the rule of law in Malta. I would also like to commend my co…

20

Oct

2022

EN Speech

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European support to the Ukrainian research community (debate)

, we have entered a new and pivotal phase of the callous and unnecessary war in Ukraine. I think everybody knows that the war could be over tomorrow if war criminal Putin wished it so. Europe’s reaction to the war is, of course, multifaceted. But I am glad that MEPs Buşoi and Carvalho have raised this particular aspect. As has been pointed out, the EU higher education and research community has ex…

20

Oct

2022

EN Speech

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Commission implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1614 of 15 September 2022 determining the existing deep-sea fishing areas and establishing a list of areas where vulnerable marine ecosystems are known to occur or are likely to occur (debate)

Thank you very much for the question. As we pointed out, and my colleagues as well, we want to have sustainable fishing. We want to protect the marine areas. But it must be done, first of all, on up—to—date data. That is not the position as of now. Secondly, if you ban fishing from these waters by Irish and other fishers from the European Union, there’s going to be a shortage of food, as my collea…

20

Oct

2022

EN Speech

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Commission implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1614 of 15 September 2022 determining the existing deep-sea fishing areas and establishing a list of areas where vulnerable marine ecosystems are known to occur or are likely to occur (debate)

A Uachtaráin, the EU has the world’s largest maritime area, with a coastline approximately 68 000 kilometres long. Ireland, a small island on the edge of Europe, has one of the largest sea-to-land ratios of any EU Member State. With the ocean an ever-present feature of Irish life, we hold huge value and huge respect for the sea around our island. It is a source of beauty, activity and economy for …

20

Oct

2022

GA Speech

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Cultural solidarity with Ukraine and a joint emergency response mechanism for cultural recovery in Europe (debate)

Mr President, culture plays a special role in the harmony of our global society. It is important to bring people together. Culture can create a connection between different people from different tribes regardless of the differences between them. As we have seen with the European Union, we can overcome cultural differences and connect with people from different cultures in a meaningful way. Putin's…

19

Oct

2022

GA Speech

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Presentation of the Court of Auditors' annual report 2021 (debate)

Mr. President, first of all, warmly welcome my friend Tony Murphy, who took up his duties as the new Court of Auditors President earlier this month. I'm very happy with you today, Tony. I look forward to your presidency. The 2021 annual report covers an enormous amount of work and topics. This year, for the first time, the ECA covered the Recovery and Resilience Facility, the main component of the…

18

Oct

2022

EN Speech

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UN Climate Change Conference 2022 in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt (COP27) (debate)

Mr President, A Uachtaráin. These are special times from a climate and energy perspective. The decisions to be taken at COP27 will shape climate and energy policies and have an impact on all of us. With worrying peaks of energy poverty affecting vulnerable families, small businesses and local authorities all over the EU, we must act urgently. Making our energy system independent of Russian fossil …

18

Oct

2022

EN Speech

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Keep the bills down: social and economic consequences of the war in Ukraine and the introduction of a windfall tax (debate)

Mr President, Putin’s armed forces have underwhelmed. But he retains a strong grip on energy supply, for now. He will try to weaponise the winter to weaken resolve and support for Ukraine. The EU and Member States must introduce a range of measures and supports to help households and businesses and protect citizens from the worsening energy price hikes. Immediate actions of the energy crisis shoul…

6

Oct

2022

GA Speech

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COVID-19 – Sustaining EU preparedness and response: looking ahead (debate)

Mr President, I do not know if there is an interpretation in Irish for this session or not, therefore, in case I do not, I will ask the Commission my question in English at the end. Clearly, the pandemic has shown us that it is much better to cooperate at European level than to have each country go their own way and it is good that we see this collaboration at the beginning of the pandemic, both i…

5

Oct

2022

GA Speech

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The situation of human rights in Haiti in particular related to gang violence

Mr President, current affairs in Haiti have completely disappeared from control and order. Parents don't want to send their children to school. There is a shortage of energy and clean water. In addition to the bad, hospitals, banks and shops are struggling to keep their doors open. Political instability has worsened since the assassination of President Haiti last year. In addition, inflation of al…

5

Oct

2022

EN Speech

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Humanitarian situation after the devastating floods in Pakistan and the climate crisis (debate)

A Uachtaráin, the climate crisis is increasingly affecting the lives of millions of people across the world. This year, Pakistan endured extreme weather conditions: from its heat wave in March and April, to the devastating floods in June. Pakistan was one of the country’s worst affected by climate change in the first years of this century. This climate-induced crisis has come on top of an ongoing …

5

Oct

2022

EN Speech

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Outcome of the Commission’s review of the 15-point action plan on trade and sustainable development (debate)

A Uachtaráin, the war in Ukraine and the COVID—19 pandemic have caused huge disruptions to global supply chains, exposed European vulnerabilities, and shown that, now more than ever, the EU needs to diversify our trading routes and develop new partners. However, diversification should not come at the expense of other EU policy goals that ensure that producers and trading countries abide by environ…

5

Oct

2022

EN Speech

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Countering the anti-European and anti-Ukrainian propaganda of Putin’s European cronies (topical debate)

A Uachtaráin, we’ve entered a new phase in the unnecessary and callous war waged by Vladimir Putin. His shambolic and illegal referendums have served as a fickle means for Russia to try to absorb thousands of square kilometres of Ukrainian territory in what will be the largest forced annexation of land in Europe since 1945. Like the heinous war crimes that are part of Russian standard military tac…

4

Oct

2022

EN Speech

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Radio Equipment Directive: common charger for electronic devices (A9-0129/2022 - Alex Agius Saliba)

Madam President, uimhir 3, I think we were all very happy to support this report and to see it being approved by an overwhelming majority because it establishes a single charging portal for mobile phones, tablets and other portable electronics in the EU. Not before time. The aim of this proposal is to improve consumer welfare and reduce the environmental footprint that comes from the manufacture a…

4

Oct

2022

EN Speech

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Striving for a sustainable and competitive EU aquaculture: the way forward (A9-0215/2022 - Clara Aguilera)

A Uachtaráin, I was pleased also to vote in favour of this report. It aims to build resilience and competitiveness within the EU aquaculture sector. The EU imports 70% of all the aquatic food it consumes. In this regard, the EU aquaculture sector has a great potential and it is important that the European Commission and EU Member States provide the legal framework required to develop it further. E…

4

Oct

2022

EN Speech

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Serious cross-border threats to health (A9-0247/2021 - Véronique Trillet-Lenoir)

Madam President, I am pleased to support this report from my colleague, Ms Trillet—Lenoir, for a regulation on serious cross-border threats to health. These new measures aim to strengthen public health in the EU when faced with serious challenges, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic unfortunately revealed how the European Union severely lacked the tools to counter a health crisis, and cons…

4

Oct

2022

EN Speech

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AccessibleEU Centre in support of accessibility policies in the EU internal market (debate)

A Uachtaráin, Commissioner, about 90 million persons in the EU have some form of disability; 50% of persons with disabilities are in employment compared to 75% without disabilities. Although major advances have been achieved in favour of people with disabilities, often these citizens are still faced with significant barriers to full participation in their communities. Efforts must continue if we a…

14

Sep

2022

GA Speech

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State of the Union (debate)

Thank you, Mr. President, and congratulations Mr. President, for the kind words you have given us. Thank you, Ursula, for staying for the entirety of the debate. You spoke a lot about energy, and rightly so. And to your credit, you’re going around the world trying to get LNG supplies for Europe. But I’m sorry to say that in my country we have an opportunity to build an LNG terminal free of charge …

13

Sep

2022

EN Speech

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Deforestation Regulation (A9-0219/2022 - Christophe Hansen)

A Uachtaráin. I commend my colleague Christophe Hansen on the work he has done on this file. This proposal for a regulation to limit the availability of products linked to deforestation on the EU market is a step in the right direction in order to achieve the EU’s commitment to curb deforestation and forest degradation. This is a topic close to the heart of many of my constituents in Ireland South…

13

Sep

2022

GA Speech

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New EU Forest Strategy for 2030 – Sustainable Forest Management in Europe (A9-0225/2022 - Ulrike Müller)

Mr President, it is clear that climate change severely affects the forest ecosystem and that in doing so, forests themselves can fight climate change. Naturally, the trees can absorb carbon from the atmosphere and, as a result, the carbon emission in the atmosphere is reduced. For this, we need to preserve, improve and increase forests in the European Union so that we can achieve carbon neutrality…